Top 10 Brand-New Electric Cars and Gadgets for Driving Green

Now in its 23rd year, the Electric Vehicle Symposium is the world's largest gathering for the electric drive industry, with over 100 exhibitors in Anaheim, Calif., this week. But it's not just about the big boys: We scoured the show floor and burnt out the test track for the innovations beyond OEM and Tesla-the green wheels that might not make history today, but probably can tomorrow.

1. Envision Solar LifePort

Electric vehicles need a place to recharge at home. Sure, you could plug into the grid, but why not make your own clean power from the sun? The LifePort does just that, while offering owners a DIY-assembled carport to boot. Manufactured with recycled steel and weighing no more than 100 pounds per main piece, this 22 x 22-ft. solar structure's setup is eminently doable-and customizable, since it still works when covered by stucco and other materials to match your roof, vinyl siding and the like.

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At 200-watts each, the 24 solar panels generate a robust 4.8 kW of juice-enough to power most homes. (An optional system can produce 6.4 kW.) "This is a constantly growing market," Envision CEO Robert Noble told PM this weekend. So, yeah: LifePort runs at $45,199, but there's a $2000 federal tax cred for generating your own solar power, plus $10,000 if you live in California. And when you consider that a solar garage can recharge your car, power much of your home's electrical needs and add future resale value (who won't want a panel-top carport come 2015?), it starts to make a lot of sense. The photo above was taken at this year's Burning Man festival with a prototype Tesla Roadster parked underneath.

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2. E-Bikeboard S 500 Plug-In Scooter

This was one of the most fun EVs at the symposium. This Swiss-designed, a three-wheeled scooter is powered by a 500-watt, front hub-mounted electric motor. Twin lithium-polymer battery packs can be recharged in six hours on the Bikeboard S 500 itself, or removed to plug in at home.

We tooled the 79-pound scooter around the show, and it plastered a big smile right on our faces. This pup does 15 mph and has a unique chassis with a "carving axle" so you lean into turns as if you were skiing. The S 500 can travel up to 30 miles on a charge and has a folding handle bar stem, so it fits in most cars. It goes for $2495, but E-Bikeboard tells us that about $1000 of that is from the battery packs. Hey, nobody ever said lithium-ion batteries came cheap.

3. Electro Energy Plug-In Prius

Before you run to Electro Energy's website to place an order, realize that this electric Toyota Prius is just a prototype to show large fleet customers that there are options besides lithium-ion. Instead of replacing the nickel metal hydride pack, Electro Energy (a battery company that also produces lithium-ion packs) augments the stock pack with another one developed in-house to boost range and EV drive capability. The additional pack has four, 108-watt nickel metal hydride batteries (about six times as energy dense as the stock Prius pack) and allows this car to travel up to 25 miles on electric power alone.

The Electro Energy "Bipolar" pack has a patented thin-wafer design that requiures no additional electrical connections between cells. They can essentially stack them up as you would the D-cell batteries in a flashlight. And the packs are lighter and take up less space than some competitors. We took it for a spin and found that it will stay in EV mode up to 34 mph on about 1/3 throttle. The plug-in Prius prototype we drove recently in Japan could accelerate to a higher EV-only top speed with more throttle input, but it could only maintain EV mode for fewer than 10 miles. Fleet customers can expect to pay around $7000 for the conversion, depending on volume.

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4. Vectrix Plug-in Electric Scooter

"Scooter" is a fairly broad classification. But unlike some scramblers at EVS23, the Vectrix scooter rides like a real, gasoline-powered scooter rather than an overgrown electric bicycle. The 500-pound Vectrix has been on sale since June and, according to the company's vehicle test engineer (whose job it is to hammer the scooter for durability), it gets between 30 and 40 miles under heavy throttle applications. Expect normal users to get between 40 and 60 miles per charge of the nickel metal hydride battery pack.

One of the coolest features of the Vectrix is its regenerative braking system. On our test ride, we primarily used the re-gen rear brakes (twist the throttle backward) to accomplish nearly all our stopping power. And the re-gen brake capability also functions as a reverse gear, which is something only the biggest touring motorcycles, like the Honda Goldwing, can claim. The $11,000 bike tops out at 62 mph and can accelerate from 0-50 mph in 6.8 seconds-not bad. Vectrix says its battery can recharge to 80 percent in about 2.5 hours and can live for 10 years or 50,000 miles before replacement. On the road, the Vectrix rides like any other scooter, except, of course, that it's nearly silent. In 2009, the company will launch a cool trike-two wheels in front and one in back-that's powered by a lithium-ion battery and should go for around $16,000.

5. Ronaele 300EV Electric Mustang

For us, this was the star of the show for us. Like Tesla, Ronaele believes you can build an EV that's intoxicatingly fun-to-drive and environmentally friendly at the same time. They'll build you a Mustang 300EV for around $80,000 (plus the cost of a donor car) that packs the equivalent of 300 hp while using lithium phosphate batteries.

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Sure, Ronaele admits that its Mustang can only go 125 miles before needing a recharge, but it'll scoot to 60 mph in four seconds. And from where we sit, that's a pretty good tradeoff. Not enough for you? A 600-hp equivalent is coming soon, and, yeah, we can't wait for our test drive in that bad boy.

6. Quantya FMX EV Bike

This Swiss-made off-roader has to be one of the toughest-looking EVs around. The Quantya FMX uses a lithium polymer battery pack for a range of 25 miles at a constant 40 mph. The 195-pound bike is street legal and will sell for less than $10,000. To absorb big bumps, the suspension uses Marzocchi Shiver 35mm front forks and a Sachs single shock in the rear.

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Unfortunately, this bike wasn't in the ride-and-drive area of the symposium, but it looks super cool in person-and we want one in the PM garage.

7. Johnson Controls/Saft VL6P Production Lithium-Ion Battery Cell

EVS23 wasn't just about the weird and wacky EVs on display. There were plenty of OEM battery suppliers, from A123Systems (the gurus we profiled earlier this year who are charged with powering Chevy's Volt by 2010) to its rivals at Johnson Controls/Saft. The battle for lithium-ion technology is heating up, but it may be Johnson that gets a battery pack on a production vehicle first.

The Milwaukee-based company had its VL6P lithium cell on display (pictured above at left), along with a larger unit. According to Johnson's booth rep, a pack with the VL6P cells will make its way into the Mercedes-Benz S400 diesel hybrid next year. And a year later a pack with the larger cells (above right) will jumpstart the Saturn Vue Plug-In Hybrid.

8. AC Propulsion Scion eBox

It looks like the good ol', last-gen Scion xB, but this little white box is really a lithium-ion powered EV. Already on the market for almost a year, the AC Propulsion eBox uses a 600-pound battery with lithium Cobalt chemistry comprised of 5088 small cells to hit a range of 150 miles.

This is one of the cleanest and best-performing conversions we've ever driven. Even with three good-size adults on board, the acceleration was sprightly. AC Propulsion claims a 0-60mph time of seven seconds, and that sounds about right to us. Top speed is 95 mph, and it takes five hours to recharge the battery, or two hours to quick-charge. But as with most high-tech EVs today, this one's expensive: The conversion cost $55,000, not including the cost of a donor Scion.

9. Fallbrook Technologies NuVinci CVT-Style Transmission for EVs

Earlier this year, Fallbrook pioneered its continuously variable planetary (CVP) gearset on Ellsworth bicycles. The bike is brilliant, allowing for a smooth, seamless transmission of power from low-speed hill climbing to higher-speed cruising. But the best part of Fallbrook's CVP is that it's scaleable.

After we climbed off the bike, we climbed on a couple of Currie Technologies electric scooters-one with the standard fixed final electric drive and another one with the NuVinci CVP. The difference was astonishing: The CVP scooter was quicker off the line and had a higher top speed. The prototype we tried was calibrated to deliver shift points not unlike a car's automatic transmission. And speaking of automotive applications, Fallbrook says it's prototyping electric cars in Asia with a larger version of this technology. We hope it comes to market soon-real soon.

10. Electric Vehicle Systems e-Force Electric ATEV 28

An electric ATV? At first glance, this may not make a lot of sense. But while ATVs are obviously used for recreation, they're also employed by municipalities for lifeguards and security personnel, and by farms and ranches as utility vehicles. So a zero0emissions workhorse is a smart idea. And Electronic Vehicle Systems recently launched the e-Force ATV for just those customers.

The e-Force's sealed lead acid battery pack allows for a range of 30 miles, topping out at 35 mph-or more than 40 mph with a little tweaking. Our short ride proved that this ATV is about as quick (in power mode) as a normal work ATV. In economy mode, it wasn't quite as spry. The 650-pound workhorse will likely switch to a lithium phosphate battery pack in 2009. But right now the ATV goes for $7200 to $7600, depending on equipment.